Afghanistan: Reverting to Barbarism

Sometimes I think we in the West have a deep-seated tendency to commit societal suicide. After the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001, we began our so-called "war on terror" by invading Afghanistan with the goal of ousting the Taliban regime that had sheltered and supported Osama bin Laden and his gang of terrorists, aka Al-Qaeda.  Not willing to admit that these thugs are actually motivated by the teachings of some of their religion's spiritual leaders, our politicians put their heads in the sand and spoke eloquently of spreading democracy, ensuring the right to vote, equal opportunity for women, and creating new ally in this volatile region. And as they spoke of these good things, they helped install a new Afghan regime that really differs very little from that of its Taliban predecessor. Indeed, under the administration of President Bush and now supported by the administration of President Obama, we created and continue to support a theocracy that is perpetrating some of the same barbaric crimes.

Did you know that the government of Afghanistan is about to execute a Christian by the name of Said Musa (photo left) for the horrendous crime of converting to Christianity? We're not talking about the governments of Pakistan or Saudi Arabia where such anti-apostasy laws have been in place for decades. No, this is happening in Afghanistan, and is being carried out by a government that we, in effect, created, under a constitution that prohibits religious freedom. As a result Musa has been tortured, imprisoned without trial or counsel, and can expect to be executed. And not one word publicly from our president.

For more on this story, read Paul Marshall's piece on National Review Online. You can also visit the Facebook page devoted to saving Musa from execution. And then read Said Musa's letter, written from prison.

Pray for Said Musa and his family. And pray that our government may find the courage to tell the Afghans to stop this barbarity now.